How do you align your plan with resources?

1 Assess your current situation

Before you start planning, you need to have a clear picture of your current resource availability, capacity, and utilization. This means identifying and quantifying the resources you have, such as staff, equipment, materials, budget, time, and information. It also means analyzing how efficiently and effectively you are using these resources, and what gaps or constraints you face. You can use various tools and methods to conduct a resource audit, such as SWOT analysis, resource breakdown structure, resource calendars, and resource histograms.

2 Define your objectives and priorities

Once you have a realistic understanding of your resource situation, you need to align it with your operational objectives and priorities. This means setting SMART goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. It also means prioritizing your goals based on their importance, urgency, and impact. You can use various tools and methods to define and prioritize your objectives, such as SMART criteria, Pareto analysis, Eisenhower matrix, and MoSCoW technique.

4 Communicate and collaborate with stakeholders

To ensure that your resource plan is aligned with your stakeholders' expectations and needs, you need to communicate and collaborate with them throughout the planning process. This means involving them in the resource assessment, objective setting, and priority ranking, and soliciting their feedback and input. It also means sharing your resource plan with them, explaining the rationale and benefits, and addressing any concerns or issues. You can use various tools and methods to communicate and collaborate with stakeholders, such as stakeholder analysis, communication plan, RACI matrix, and stakeholder engagement plan.

5 Monitor and control your resource plan

To ensure that your resource plan is executed as planned and delivers the desired results, you need to monitor and control your resource plan throughout the implementation phase. This means tracking and measuring the resource availability, utilization, and performance, and comparing them with the planned baselines. It also means identifying and resolving any resource deviations, variances, or issues, and making adjustments or corrections as needed. You can use various tools and methods to monitor and control your resource plan, such as performance indicators, variance analysis, earned value analysis, and change management plan.

6 Review and evaluate your resource plan

To ensure that your resource plan is aligned with your continuous improvement and learning goals, you need to review and evaluate your resource plan after the completion of the project or cycle. This means collecting and analyzing the data and feedback on the resource outcomes, outputs, and processes, and assessing their effectiveness and efficiency. It also means identifying and documenting the resource lessons learned, best practices, and recommendations for future improvement. You can use various tools and methods to review and evaluate your resource plan, such as post-project review, evaluation criteria, lessons learned log, and improvement plan.